Joie de Vivre
by ashensunset
Summary: When Godric realizes his descent into depression, he turns to his progeny for help in regaining his appreciation for life. But will Eric, Sookie, and Pam be able to restore his desire to live? First time writer. AU/OOC
1. FanG-tasia

AN: I have been an obsessive reader of SVM and True Blood fanfiction since I discovered its existence. But this is my first one I've written. I like constructive criticism, but please do not beat up my writing. I come from an academic writing background, so breaking more into creative is new for me. This is betaless. It was an idea rolling around in my head for a little, so I decided to try it out. And all characters and probably some eventual plot belong to Ms. Harris and Mr. Ball.

* * *

His eyes flicked to the glowing neon sign as he drove into the parking lot and parked his bike in one of the few open spots. Puns had always been something he had an affinity for, chuckling or at least smiling slightly at every silly joke that would make many roll their eyes and groan.

FanG-tasia. He chuckled slightly. Maybe the pun had been created for him. But his child had also always hidden his love for silly humor. Pam, he imagined, would be one to roll her eyes, even if she did enjoy it.

With a sigh, Godric went through the back door of the club and slipped into the employee hallway. While he was excited to see his Eric again after the decades they had spent apart, his visit was not a happy one.

Godric had been growing despondent and depressed recently. It was only within the past fifteen or twenty years that he began to feel this way, specifically with everything leading up to the great revelation and humanity's response to his kind's existence.

He realized, with various inclinations, that if he did not actively do something to change his point of view, he would eventually succumb to his despair. The only result from despair is a vampire's true death. Between the active nature of the Fellowship in Dallas, the abrasive natures of some of the vampires in his area, and the tempting sunrise that he had not viewed in over two thousand years, he knew something would eventually happen to permanently kill him if he continued to allow his fouling mood to interfere with his ever-on-the-defense lifestyle.

On the defense was how one had to live as a vampire in order to survive as long as he had: aware of every possibility in a situation with appropriate counter-measures ready and an extra escape plan or twelve. It wasn't a peaceful or even always pleasant mode of life, but it was a way to survive.

Godric's last resort, understanding his mood, was what caused him to be waiting in the hallway of Fangtasia while his unaware progeny finished his meal. From the zipping sounds and the finally ceased cries of passion, he figured Eric was almost done.

The door opened and a brunette woman sauntered out in shoes she could hardly walk in with a goofy smile on her face and smeared lipstick around her mouth. Another fangbanger leaves Fangtasia satisfied, courtesy of Eric Northman.

At that thought Godric did roll his eyes; despite the ease of the acquisition, there was no appeal in feeding this way. Then again, Godric thought as a second girl followed the first (this one a leggy and ridiculously thin bleach blonde), maybe there was something to it. He was a man after all.

Instead of knocking, Godric slipped in the partially open door while Eric was facing a small closet and donning another shirt. The ancient vampire, who had been blocking his side of their bond for years, quickly opened it, like a vampire might whip his head back when getting defanged, rather than slowly allow the person to tortuously pull out the fang – quickly as to not prolong the pain. Or – for humans, like ripping off a band-aid.

However the effect here wasn't to get it over with, but to surprise. And as Eric whipped around and his eyes went wide, Godric knew it had had the right result. "Hello, Eric."

"Godric." Eric said reverently before that same boyish smile that always charmed his maker came across his face. A notion of worry crossed his eyes before the returned to display his typical stoic expression.

The open bond showed Eric everything. Godric's pleasure at seeing his progeny. His joy at being near him. His love. His ever-pressing depression, almost overwhelming the happiness of being here. His hope that his son, so full of life, could help restore his own _joie de vivre_.

"It's good to see you," Eric said as he gestured for Godric to sit. "What is wrong? Is something going on in Dallas? Do you need anything?"

The dark-haired vampire smiled indulgently at the barrage of questions and steeled himself to answer them in the order that proved easiest. "Nothing beyond the typical scope is occurring in Dallas. King Stan is the same as always. The Fellowship are active as ever. The vampires rowdy. And Isobel is now sheriff. And before you ask, no, nothing happened to affect my position; I just no longer wanted it."

That was the easy one. The next were not as simple to answer, but he would try. "Yes. There is something wrong. I find myself in an emotional state I have never been in through my two millennia. I am repulsed. By vampires. By humans. By my existence. I care nothing for the goings on of our politics. I do not wish to deal with anything. I wonder if maybe the Fellowship is right.

"Maybe vampires should not exist. I have become lax with my safety. When a vampire brought a spy into my home, I almost failed to act. I almost let him remain. I was even thinking about going and talking to Steve Newlin. Maybe . . . maybe let the Fellowship – I don't know."

Eric, throughout his maker's explanation, was closely monitoring their recently opened bond. And he felt the suicidal nature of his master's thoughts as Godric trailed off. Godric would have let the zealots destroy him?

"But I stopped Hugo instead. And knew that with the nature of my emotions, I needed to act. So that is what is wrong. And what I need from you. . . .

"I request, Sheriff, to remain in your area. I do not have anywhere to stay, but I was hoping to inquire with my progeny as to whether I could share his resting space. He is the proprietor of a bar called Fangtasia." A smile breached his face saying the pun aloud. "And, though I do not need to in order to afford my lifestyle, I am sure he would allow me employment in his bar if it is required that I profit in the area." Godric locked his fingers together, looking down at his hands from his spot perched on the chair in front of the office's desk.

His eyes returned back to his child, who was leaning against his desk. "Eric, your joy in living, in being alive even as a vampire, or maybe because you are a vampire, has been something within you always. Maybe," the ancient said, sounding like the mournful teenager for whom he could be mistaken, "well, maybe you can help me find my _joie de vivre_ again." He looked sheepishly at his hands again, a rueful smile on his face.

Eric crouched in front of his maker and looked at him indulgently and with concern. "Godric, anything you need that I can provide is yours to have. You may rest with me, my progeny, or in any of our safe homes. You can come here to be with me, do something else, have a percentage of the bar from me, or do nothing. I will help you. And you will get past this. Now, when was the last you fed?"

The dark-haired vampire chuckled and shook his head. "It has been…weeks I believe."

Eric teasingly shook his head and sighed. "Well we'll have to fix that now." They both felt a tremor go through the bond Eric had been blocking with Pam, and suddenly the blonde was there. Dressed in a tight black pvc dress the ended mid thigh and some, actually very nice thigh high Louboutin boots.

Turned when she was not too much older than Godric was, Pam held in the cry of joy she wanted to share and instead smiled, quickly embracing her grandsire before releasing him. "Godric!" she cried.

"Godric needs to drink," Eric cut in before Pam could explain all the ways she had missed his master, her indulgent shopping partner.

"Just a warmed up bag, please," Godric interjected as Pam began to speed towards the club. Knowing her, if left to her own devices she would return with a harem.

His child pursed his lips, obviously disappointed with his sire's desire not to have a meal with a beating heart in the room. Part of being a vampire was the feeling of the blood flowing and ebbing with the pumps of a human's heart. It was the smell of the fear or the desire or the pleasure from a meal.

Even without the sex that often followed a feeding, the aphrodisiac of the warm living blood was euphoric.

Instead of the spicy curvy red-head Eric had eyed earlier as a possible after-dinner snack, Pam returned with a tumbler full of warm blood for her grandsire, AB negative from the smell.

Slowly, Eric realized, he would have to reintroduce his sire to the life of a vampire. Maybe showing him some of the benefits of vampires being in the open would help.

His eyes caught Pam's as he sent her shimmers of the same emotions he had been shown earlier by his maker. Her eyes widened slightly, and she glanced at Godric, who was finishing the glass.

The elder vampire nodded at Pam in thanks once he finished his meal, realizing how refreshed he actually felt, physically at least. He was politely ignoring the silent conversation between Eric and Pam, instead focusing on his own bonds.

His tie to his own maker was still there, muted. There were those to his progeny. The newer one was with Nora – so dedicated to advancing her own position. His oldest was Eric.

He also examined ties connected to Eric. While Nora had no progeny of her own, Eric did have one strand – Pam. Godric had emphasized to his children how selective a maker should be in choosing whom to turn. Eric had been an amazing warrior, a fierce leader, and had a strength of character even as he was dying.

Nora had been in the Dutch Republic, the area now known as Netherlands, when Louis XIV of France began his wars against the area. Living with her husband in the outlying area, they were among the first homes destroyed. She had shown incredible strength, grabbing a rudimentary shovel from her husband's farming equipment to fight against the French swords and rudimentary firearms. Her children escaped with a fleeing neighbor for all of her efforts. Ingenuity in the face of hoards of pressure.

Tied in with his bond with Eric was an extra strand indicating a blood connection between him and Pam. It was not until Godric had existed for a millennia that he had found a human worthy of his sacred blood. Eric had found one a little less than nine hundred years into his existence. And it seemed, he thought as he noticed another strand wrapped around Pam's bond, that his progeny's progeny had found a worthy being after only one and a half centuries.

"Godric," Eric said, interrupting his maker's introspection. A tremor went through the bond Godric had just found, and the ancient vampire nodded at his son, acknowledging he was listening.

"I would like to introduce you to someone. I believe that she may be able to help you with your emotional state." His eyes flicked towards the hallway as a blonde curvy beauty was illuminated in the doorway. Godric's fangs itched to slink down as he took in the vision before him. Four or five inches shorter than his own stature. Long blonde hair, wavy and tousled down to the middle of her back. Bright blue eyes like the clear day-lit sky he had not seen in two thousand years. A slight tan to her glowing skin. A bright smile lit up her face.

Eric hadn't suppressed the descent of his own fangs, offering a smile to his maker. "Godric, this is Pam's progeny and my future lover, Sookie Stackhouse."

Sookie rolled her eyes at a line she had obviously heard numerous times since her turning, or maybe even before. But her eyes lit up with joy at meeting the man who made her own grandsire. Before she could self-correct, her arms were around the ancient vampire in a warm hug.

He drew in an unnecessary breath as her arms wrapped around him. Was that – no. He almost could have sworn that he smelled sunlight in her beautiful hair.

But too soon Sookie realized her mistake in proper decorum and hastily released him. Godric's eyes had not left the beauty before him, and he watched as she nodded to him deeply. "Godric, it's so nice to finally meet ya!" The soft Louisianan drawl was gentler than the Texas twang he had become accustomed to.

The dark-haired vampire wondered if she was just turned recently, but found himself hoping the beautiful glow of her skin would remain. He nodded his acknowledgment at her words and suddenly realized they were not alone. Eric was smirking knowingly, and Pam was eyeing Sookie with a slight amount of reproach.

To keep the obviously young vampire from getting scolded, even gently, Godric placed his hand on Sookie's shoulder squeezing it gently before allowing his hand to trail softly down her arm. "It is nice to meet you too."

* * *

AN: So tell me what you think? Do I suck? Is it worth continuing?


	2. The Tourist Pamphlet

AN: Thank you all so much for your awesome responses! I hope I can do justice to the ideas in my head and the information you want to know. As a note, these characters are probably ooc a bit, especially Sookie. For the most part, however, they are based more on their SVM versions than their True Blood ones. For those indicating which direction I should go as far as pairing (this is labeled romance), we'll have to see. I have general ideas, but I'm really letting the characters and their development lead me. Also, at the end of the chapter I included a link to the inspiration for Sookie's Fangtasia work clothes. Just copy, paste, and remove the spaces. This is betaless. And all characters and probably some plot as I go along belong to Ms. Harris and Mr. Ball.

* * *

Sookie almost leaned into Godic's gentle caress, but she steeled herself. "Sorry 'bout that – the hug thing," she said, eyeing Pam to see how much of a glare her maker was giving her. "I know, I know," she said contritely, bowing slightly towards the other woman. "You'd think I was made yesterday. But I just got so excited, Pammy." Sookie winked at her friend after feeling out the bond. Other than the spike of irritation at the nickname, there was no anger.

"Of course you did. There's always some excuse. You were excited. You were annoyed. He grabbed your ass. Always something!" Pam scolded. However, it was playful with a forced stoic face. Sookie had made a good vampire, just like Pam knew she would.

Eric stood there, watching the back and forth while keeping an eye on his maker and his consciousness on the bond and Godric's emotions.

"So how old are you then?" Godric asked. Pam had never been playful before. In the 150 years he had known her, she was one to play with her food, but never play in the sense he could see she did with Sookie. Was this the effect that Miss Stackhouse had?

Sookie giggled at the gentle tongue-lashing. "Well, I'm sure every excuse was legitimate!" The blonde hair tossed gently over her shoulders as she shook her head. "Sorry, Godric. She's a bit childish." She winked teasingly at him before continuing, "Pammy here made me – what – almost six years ago now? I was almost nineteen."

Six years. Had he really been so distant that Pam had been caring for a newborn, training her as a vampire, and in the meantime coming out of the coffin while Godric did not know about it? He had checked on Eric before and after the Great Revelation, but only subtly through the bond. Nothing had indicated his progeny needed him, so he didn't worry.

And with over a decade since he had last spoken to Eric, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised at the things he had missed. The bar, for instance, was new since vampires came out.

Eric looked at his maker with concern in his eyes. Only with family did he allow himself to open up and show his emotions. But they were plain to see at he took in Godric's response to Sookie's age. His maker was upset and only feeling a bit worse with the information.

Sookie, he thought, would still be one to help Godric come out of this depression. Though he would do what he could, Sookie had brought life to all of the vampires close to him since they had met her almost ten years before. They had brought something to her as well, giving her a freedom she had never known.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a sharp knock on the doorframe. Chow stepped before the group of vampires and nodded deeply to Godric and his Sheriff. "The human at the door is incompetent, Sheriff. And with you, Pam, and Sookie back here the vermin are getting restless." He zipped back to the bar, not wanting to leave the few remaining staff dealing with the crowd by themselves.

Sookie let out a human-like sigh and rolled her eyes. "Dawn's such a pain in my ass sometimes! She can never handle the door." Simultaneously smoothing and poofing the gothic lolita-style dress she had agreed to wear when working (a combination of the dark gothic tone the club required and her own southern girly sensibilities), she grinned at Godric. "I'm sure I'll see you out there."

He nodded his head, signaling the affirmative. He wanted to observe this girl for some reason. Maybe it was because she seemed so full of vitality when he was not. In his lifetime, Godric could not recall any vampire so vivacious.

Eric nodded Sookie out of the room and Pam, in her own silly 'dark, scary, evil vampire' costume, followed her progeny. Sookie would go to the door while Pam would scare the crowd if they didn't chill out.

Godric leaned against the back of the chair he had vacated when Pam entered the room. "She's something different." Two minutes with the young vampire had been a whirlwind of emotion for him.

Eric nodded. If only his maker knew. "Come. Let me show you my bar. It's a little like being an animal in a zoo. If the animals could eat the onlookers at will."

* * *

The ancient vampire leaned back against the seat of the booth. The bar was, in itself, ridiculous. The humor of the name definitely extended into the bar. While Sookie's, Pam's, and the staff's more modest outfits showed a certain level of class, the customers who came certainly did not. They seemed eager for any amount of attention, from it seemed any vampire present.

Already he found the overwhelming smell of the crowd's arousal was making him uneasy. The obvious stares from those wearing too little clothes and too much makeup as they analyzed and took in his appearance caused him to steel himself further.

Yes, Eric. Of course this was worth living for. Look at how they stared. Look at what they thought would gain his attention. He closed his eyes and purposefully relaxed himself, trying to get over his aversion.

Sitting up, Godric looked around. Pam was leaning against the bar, glaring at the patrons when necessary. Rolling her eyes at the tourist's questions – did she get that habit from her progeny? – and directing them towards the display of merchandise, specifically a five dollar pamphlet titled "A Night in the Unlife of a Vampire: A Pamphlet of General Information about Vampires."

He cocked his head to the side slightly, slight confusion evident in the bond with his progeny and voiced his question of what the brochure was. "It's Sookie's; her idea, her writing. She got tired of the mindless questions before even Pam or I did. So she wrote that and said if any tourists wanted questions answered, they all lay right there, for just paying five dollars and being fed a bunch of mainstreaming bullshit," Eric said.

"Not AVL approved I take it?"

"Nothing in there goes against it anything the AVL claims. This horrible disease has made us all hopelessly susceptible to sunburn. Probably promotes Fangtasia more than anything any of the organizations would support," Eric noted with a certain level of satisfaction. This bar compared to the one he ran before Pam and Sookie came along was far more profitable.

"Are you sure I can't offer you something?" Eric asked.

"I'm sure. So tell me about this place, your decade, your Pam, her Sookie."

Eric smirked. Godric obviously didn't care about the bar; he generally knew Eric's own and Pam's states. But Sookie was the new variable.

"We met her almost ten years ago. Little spunky teenager. She had run from the place where she was staying and was in the neighborhood. I had just called Pam from Minnesota and she came to help; that was when discussion of revealing ourselves had just begun. Pam was securing her own house and Sookie strolled through the door, a hard look on her face as she examined us and asked if we were new neighbors.

"The little brat even tried to steal from Pam once – a pair of her Manolo Blahniks. I'm sure you can guess how fast shit hit the fan then."

"And instead of eating her, Pam turned her?" Godric asked with wonder.

"Well Sookie had rescued the shoes from the rain. She figured if Pam didn't want to appreciate them, she could." It didn't matter to Sookie that at the time all she had to wear with them were hand-me-downs that were too large for her. The shoes were "pretty and in good shape."

"Ahh. So she rescued the shoes, Pam threatened her, and their friendship grew from there."

"Something like that," the blonde mused. Godric's eyes, he noted, had gravitated to the door where Sookie was working. She made an excellent bouncer. With her looks, no one was overly intimidated that she would scare them away. But she was willing to handle her own. "If you want, I'm sure she wouldn't mind the company. Or it is getting late. We could close early. You'll stay with me, right?"

Godric tore his eyes away from the vague silhouette he could see of Sookie. "Of course. And you do not have to close. I don't want to disturb her, but I can wait."

Eric didn't say anything, but instead looked at Pam who began clearing out the bar. "Come. Let's go to my house. As soon as they're all set Sookie and Pam will join us."

Godric nodded. But before they left the bar, he handed a ten-dollar bill to the girl at the merch stand and took a copy of the pamphlet.

* * *

Back at Eric's home, Godric was sitting reading the ridiculous pamphlet Sookie sold to the tourists and fangbangers.

"Beyond the obvious, what's bullshit?" Godric asked his child. They had been quiet since their arrival at his house. The corvette and Godric's bike were parked in the garage side-by-side. Really the only thing Godric had spoken about had been Sookie. Something fascinated him about her. He wanted to know more about the vampire who somehow captured the attention of the two very discriminating vampires for whom he had a great measure of respect.

"Oh, most of it is crap. It'd be easier to say what is true. She worked for me, but not cleaning. As a human, Sookie was a telepath. We couldn't figure out how or where in her lineage the skill originated for the longest time, but she said she was the only one of such talent in her family."

Godric's eyes widened slightly, in his lifespan he had never met a telepath, or at least not one who acknowledged the skill. A bit of shock and awe was pinged through their bond. That would be a very useful person to have as an employee. However something rose inside him that made him ask, "You treated her well, I take it?"

"She was a sort-of friend first. At least to Pam. They got on well. She tolerated being a sort of Barbie doll to Pam before she had even been turned. Sookie never had much before Pam showed her some of Pam's choice in fun."

Eric almost didn't know how to take this fascination his maker had with the girl he'd been trying to bed for years. Godric was fixated, and was almost defensive when he worried Eric may have mistreated her.

Godric picked up the pamphlet, hoping to get more information from it.

"Oh geeze, Godric! Don't take a word of that seriously. I can't believe you even took one," Sookie said, strolling into Eric's house before turning heel to the kitchen and heating four bagged bloods. Two she placed in one glass, and the others were in their own.

Handing Godric the fuller glass, she gave one to Eric, plopped down on the large leather armchair across from the couch were they sat, and perched with her legs crossed Indian-style on the seat. She took a sip of her warm blood and placed it down on a coaster on the carved oak table.

"Pam said she wanted a live snack tonight. I think she's just gonna fuck that new girl Carrie again," Sookie said, explaining her maker's absence.

She watched as Eric quickly downed the glass of blood, and Godric drank deeply before stopping when there was only a little more than the amount in her glass. He was still hungry, she knew. But she was glad to know he had drank the blood Pam brought earlier and now didn't question the double serving she gave him.

Sookie, though she couldn't read the minds of vampires, could tell how worried Eric and Pam were. She could almost feel the depression, now mixed with a bit of curiosity, seeping from Godric's pores.

It was something she could always do. Eventually they found her telepathy was intended for her protection, almost made to be an alarm system to warn her when folks were up to no good. It had worked pretty well, at least once she was a teenager and had gotten more control of it. She had to, living in Shreveport.

"So'd ya learn anything there?" she asked the dark-haired vampire, referring to the pamphlet.

"Depends on how accurate it is. Eric not very politely indicated it was less than factual."

Sookie let out a giggle. Her laugh, Godric noted, brightened his night and brought even more life to her face. "I'm sure he did. Naw, most of it isn't true. There's never a night that _something_ doesn't happen at Fangtasia. I think the night I generally referenced was when I noticed the bullshit rolling off of Longshadow. You turned him over to Hot Rain not long before we made copies of the Tourist Pamphlet." Sookie smiled, looking at Eric to see if he had explained what she meant yet about noticing Longshadow's deception.

At the slight shake of his head, he explained, "Sookie could never hear vampires as a telepath. However she could, if she pushed, sense our emotions. As a vampire that comes naturally, though that is the extent of her mental gift from the demon Catalides. She was able to realize Longshadow was regularly being deceptive, and we discovered he was stealing from the till each night."

"You told him about my sponsor?" Sookie questioned, a little shocked at how much Eric had divulged. But Sookie quickly rationalized that Godric was family. Her family could be trusted. If Eric trusted Godric, experience had taught her that she could trust him too.

"Not your personal history or the origins of your telepathy, just the skill."

"But now you opened the can of worms!" Sookie sighed softly, almost wishing she didn't have to rehash it. But she could feel Godric's curiosity. "Where do you want me to start?" she asked their visitor, examining his pensive face while a gentle smile adorned hers.

"I find the beginning works best typically."

Sookie nodded and brushed her hair behind her shoulders. "When I was seven my mom and dad died. They were caught in a flood. I had been dropped off at my Gran's with my brother, Jason.

"As a kid I loved going to Gran's. The quilt, from the pamphlet; that's true. So are the pies and the church."

Godric sat listening, his face focused on examining her features while Sookie relayed her tale. "Well with the death of daddy, Gran had a heart attack. And then the state got involved. Aunt Linda was already sick and had Hadley, so she couldn't take me. And the social worker said Gran couldn't care for Jase and me on her own. So we were shipped up here to Shreveport and placed in the foster system.

"Gran saw us when she could. She helped Linda since Hadley was so self-centered, and once her other child passed, Gran followed soon after. I was 12. My brother was – is all I have left, but Jason and I were never super close. Even in our new situation he was able to fit in well with sports. Last I heard he went down to New Orleans. Some business venture."

She paused and drank down the rest of her blood, letting Godric, who had been ignoring his too, do the same. He didn't like how she had gone almost clinical when explaining her history. She didn't need to divulge anything, and he was about to reassure her of that when she continued.

"Telepathy was always a problem for me when I was younger. Even when I first got in the system I couldn't block anything out or distinguish between what people were saying to me and what they were thinking. You can imagine what some kids did when I pointed out how they shouldn't steal money from the foster mom's purse."

Her eyes looked to Eric as he let out a puffed sigh. "If you'd only tell us her name, we could happily rectify her wrongdoings."

Sookie shook her head, and noticed the bit of anger Godric had at her tale and a mixture of upset and pride also coming from him at her denying Eric's vengeance. She wasn't sure to whom the pride was directed. But it didn't really matter if he was happy Eric wanted revenge or glad she didn't provide him with it.

"Anyways, I learned to shut up before I learned to control my telepathy. After I had been with Pam and Eric a few years, before I was turned, we found out my grandpa was Fintan Brigant. I had the spark that makes fairies able to use magic. And essentially was gifted with telepathy from Desmond Catalides, the half-demon lawyer down in New Orleans."

She looked to Godric to see if he knew of whom she spoke. Sookie still didn't know how common demons and other species were in the human realm. With his nod, she continued. "Some of his blood ingested by Gran let all of her descendants with the Brigant spark to have telepathy."

"You are a Brigant?" Godric questioned, surprise evident in voice. Brigants were powerful fairies. His eyes looked to Eric. Had he spoken with Niall about her turning yet?

"She was Brigant by blood only. We discovered this information from Catalides after her turning. Niall has yet to make himself known to her, and with her turning I doubt he will." Eric interjected before Sookie could respond. Godric pursed his lips, obviously displeased with this information.

"So I could always get thoughts from humans. Shifters were a little fuzzy and always very tinted by emotion. And all I could get from vampires was emotion." She took an unnecessary breath.

"Then one day I got sick. I had never been sick that I could remember. But I was so sick I could hardly get up. I was really pale, freezing, and I couldn't breathe. I had collapsed trying to leave my apartment I had since I was kicked out of foster care. I wanted to get to Pam so she or Eric could help me.

"But instead they took me to the hospital. The doctors couldn't find what was wrong with me, and by the time Pam and Eric figured out where I was, it was too late for their blood to help. I had gotten on better with Pam and Eric than any human I had ever met. They were the only family or friends I really had at the time.

"So when Pam asked if I would let her turn me, it wasn't that hard a decision."

* * *

(A/N: Sorry for all of the dialogue, but I wanted to establish a backstory and Godric didn't know it yet! More action next chapter.

For those interested in Sookie's Fangtasia work clothes, here is the inspiration. www . liquiwork punkdresses / jpg / 11402181 . jpg [remove the spaces].

Look for Sookie's "A Night in the Unlife of a Vampire" to be posted in the next few days!)


	3. A Night in the Unlife of Vampire (side)

_A Night in the Unlife of a Vampire_

By Sookie Stackhouse

A Pamphlet of General Information about Vampires

While information like this is typically titled days in the lives of, I actually sleep my days away. Since I caught this virus, I've been allergic to the sunlight, so it only makes sense to sleep while the sun is out.

As a result, I'm up all night. So one day I kept a journal of everything I did. Hopefully this can answer some basic questions you might have about what vampires do and how they function.

Since it's autumn and the sun is setting earlier, I am able to go out a bit earlier in the day. So I wake up at 5:47 at night.

I open the door to my coffin – just kidding. I don't actually sleep in a coffin. I might use one if I need to travel outside during the day, but that's only because there are coffins vampires can seal that will not let any light inside. Remember I'm allergic to the sun. Technically I guess everyone's allergic to the sun. I just get burnt faster than anyone without the disease.

But when I'm home, I sleep in a bed. It has a mattress, sheets, and a quilt that my Gran made when she was alive. She died when I was young, a long time before I was made vampire, so I like to keep this piece of her with me. The only difference between my bedroom and yours is that mine doesn't have any windows.

So at 5:47 I get out of bed and get ready for the day. Just like everyone else I brush my teeth, use mouthwash, take a shower, and do all of those other things people do when they wake up. Except the bathroom. Since I follow my dietary restrictions, my body processes everything I eat or drink, and I don't need to use a toilet. Since I work tonight, I have to wear my work uniform. So I put on makeup, get dressed, and fix my hair.

By 6:19 I'm ready to go in the kitchen. I grab a synthetic blood (my favorite variation is A-negative) and microwave it. Remember the virus makes my dietary needs different from yours. While you all might get up and make eggs, bacon, and grits, I heat up my favorite TruBlood.

Yes, I have fangs. And they pop out as I drink my first meal. But since there's synthetic blood, now I don't need to use them.

Fangtasia opens at 8:00 to everyone, but I need to get there early to make sure the staff is all set. However, I find myself waiting for my roommate to join me.

I live with my best friend Pam, but some how I'm always waiting for her to get ready. She's a vampire too and gets up about the same time as me. But she takes forever to get ready. She's gorgeous, but has the biggest closet I have ever seen. So tonight, like many other nights, I'm waiting for her to join me in the kitchen.

While I wait, I could go into downtime, which is a state vampires can enter when it seems like we're doing absolutely nothing. We are able to stay really still, and it helps the time go faster. However, when I'm in downtime I am always still aware of everything going on around me.

This evening, rather than doing that, I realize I want to clean the kitchen. With two vampires living here, you might imagine that we don't often use all of the appliances. However that's not entirely accurate. While I have the disease that limits my diet, I still make it a point to cook and bake things I loved as a human.

I had made a bunch of pies yesterday for a popular Methodist church in Bon Temps, a small town about an hour from Shreveport. It is the church my Gran and I used to belong to when she was alive. So I still like to help them out with some food when I am able.

They typically bring the pies to elder people who can no longer bake for themselves and to homes with children where they cannot afford things luxuries like pastries. That reminds me, vampires have no problem with churches or crosses. Some are very religious and pray regularly. Many retain whatever beliefs they had before they got the disease.

I had already cleaned the kitchen after baking the bunch of apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies I delivered last night, but I always make sure we have a clean kitchen at home.

So I tossed on my apron (don't want to dirty my work clothes), broke out the cleaner and worked on the counter tops, the inside of the refrigerator, the stovetop, the oven, and the sink. I was just finishing up the last area of the counter when Pam finally joined me and had her own meal.

We both got in her new Honda Odyssey to go to Fangtasia (this minivan not only supports American manufacturing, since the production is in the US, but it also supports Japan, the country that created the synthetic blood we need; as a side note, did you know there are no more US-made minivans from American car companies? They're all made in Canada).

When we got there it was 7:42. She parked in her spot (Pam is part owner and manages delivery schedules and vampire staff, while I manage the human staff) and we went inside.

Today Dawn, Ginger, Belinda, and Jeanine are working. They work from 7:30 (getting the bar all set for customers) until close (at 4am) with an hour break for a meal. While we have long workdays at Fangtasia, the employees get full benefits and there are a lot of perks, if I say so myself. (And as someone who worked here before I got the virus, I do. I helped clean a few times a week after school from the time I was sixteen.)

While they've been here already for about fifteen minutes, the tables and seats were cleaned, the bar was wiped off, the shelves stocked with beer and synthetic blood, and everything was all set. During the day today, the cleaning crew came in and cleaned the bathrooms, floors, and walls, so the bar looks great and we're all set to open.

While I work, I typically man the door. So at 8:00, after making sure Longshadow, our bartender for tonight, was all set, I go to the entrance and see Pam has ensured the customers have stayed in order. The club is the most popular in Shreveport, so we try to make sure everyone is calm outside until the doors open. Right at 8 I start checking IDs and letting eager visitors into the building.

I have to take a few counterfeit IDs from a few teenagers, but otherwise it goes smoothly without a hitch. Once I let in the club's capacity, I need to be careful to only let in as many people as leave. A few local vampires come to the front of the line, and I let them by so they can work too.

Other than that, my night is pretty standard. I let people in the club as people leave. I joke with my friends as we work. Some people ask for pictures of me, so I smile a bright smile and let my fangs down. While there are no pictures allowed inside the club, I don't mind letting some people take my picture outside.

Oh that brings me to another question I get asked a lot. Yes, vampires have reflections and show up in pictures. I checked the mirror in the staff bathroom before going outside. I will show up in the pictures the customers develop.

Let me cover a few more myths, while I'm thinking of it.

We do have shadows.

Generally our skin is paler than it was before we got the virus. Tans are caused by sunlight, and since we're very allergic we cannot be in the sun to get tan!

Not every vampire is super-attractive, though I have met many beautiful vampires.

We generally have long life spans and do not age as those without the virus do.

We are pretty strong. I cannot tell you how much easier it is to change the oil on my car and clean under the couches.

Most senses are improved with the virus, so if you know you're going to be around a vampire, please make sure you've showered! Just kidding.

I cannot turn into a bat or fly. Though both of those skills would be pretty cool to have.

I cannot set things on fire with just my hands or move things with my minds. I looked on Wikipedia for vampire mythology. Some of these myths are crazy.

Vampires cannot get you pregnant nor can you impregnate a vampire. We are infertile; however, unlike those poor fake vampires in Ann Rice's stories, male vampires are not impotent.

Lastly, a bite from a vampire will not give you the disease that causes vampirism.

Whew – all done with that!

So I'm working the door until about 12AM, when Pam comes over from monitoring the staff and working the floor to take over door duty.

I go inside and drink my second meal of the night – another Trublood A-negative.

I relax in the staff room with my drink, and at 12:30 go into the bar to make sure all of the human wait staff are okay. There have been no problems this night, which is great! Sometimes, as at all bars, drunk people can get too rowdy and we need to have them leave. But there have been no issues like that tonight.

Eric Northman, the other owner of the bar, is sitting on the throne towards the rear of the room. He spends time there, making sure everything is running smoothly. He is actually 1000 years old and used to be a Viking.

Eric is probably one of the reasons a lot of people come to Fangtasia. Beyond the environment and entertainment of being around vampires, he is very handsome. (We have calendars available, male and female versions. Eric is Mr. January and definitely helps the male version be one of our best sellers. I'm in the female version as Miss July and Pam, once I convinced her not to be every month of the year, is Miss April—with a whip!)

But since there're no problems, I go behind the bar and play bartender while Longshadow goes on break. I then continue helping when he returns.

At 3:30 we call last call, and after the rush I start cleaning up and making sure everyone gets out safely. By 4:30 all of the staff is gone or on the way out, I've fixed up the merchandise display, and the money from the door, the bar, and the items for sale is counted and placed in a deposit envelope for Eric to bring to the bank before he goes home.

Pam and I get back in her van and we head home. I have one more meal and sit down in the living room to relax after a long night once I change into non-work clothes. I put on a jeans and an old Beastie Boys t-shirt, while Pam wears a really pretty light pink Prada dress. While Pam goes out again, probably to visit her girlfriend, I decide to first go shopping online for a gift for my roommate for Christmas (I know – I shop early!) before curl up with a book I've read before. If we were getting low on anything in the house, this would be when I would go out shopping.

Pam is home by 6:20AM, and since sunrise is in 20 minutes, I go to my room to get ready for bed. I brush my teeth, brush out my hair, and put on an oversized t-shirt (I think this is one of Eric's old shirts – his always fit me like dresses – and he gets rid of his shirts well before they're fully worn out.) By 6:40, the lights in my room are off, the sun comes out, and I'm asleep in my bed.

A night in the unlife of a vampire has passed and the next evening when I wake up it will start all over again.

* * *

A/N: I wasn't sure whether to post this on its own, since it doesn't contribute to the story at all or just as another chapter. Someone asked that I have it as another chapter so it's all in one spot. So here is the load of bull Sookie sells to the tourists. So what do you think? What do you think, in all of this, is true?


	4. A Helping Hand

AN: Thank you all so much for your awesome responses! This is betaless, so all of the mistakes are mine. And all characters and probably some plot as I go along belong to Ms. Harris and Mr. Ball.

Chapter 3 – A Helping Hand

"You were never sick before?" Godric asked, his eyes intent and questioning.

"Nope. But in the end it doesn't really matter. I'm much happier as a vampire than I was as a human," Sookie stated with a shrug of her shoulders.

She really was much better off as she now was. Even with all of the vampire crap, she had a mind for some of the politicking. Her shields now happened without a thought. She was able to use her skills to her benefit now. She affected and manipulated her skills, rather than them affecting her.

She looked at Godric closely, still noting the bit of concern on his features. He was a handsome vampire, really. Most were, but his strong jaw, bright hazel eyes, and the way his pouty-lipped mouth was slightly off center from the rest of his face just kind of drew her in.

Maybe it had something to do with their age when turned. They were closer in age. That was a way she and Pam had connected too. Sookie always more mature than others her age still had similar interest and values to her maker.

Eric had always flirted, once he and Pam got over the fact that she had been a fifteen-year-old human. There were times, Sookie knew, that she wished to take him up on his obvious offers. But she was concerned about the laws and didn't want it to affect how he saw her.

Ever since Pam turned her he had joked that he now had forever to convince her. Attraction was definitely there on her side, but since she got a hand from him and Pam out of the grave in which she became a vampire, she had been working on controlling her urges.

Even at _almost_ six years, she still had trouble controlling her impulses. Then again, that was true for her as a human. The one urge she had been able to control more than others were her sexual ones. Maybe that had more to do with her history than any real ability to control herself.

Maybe, she thought, her attention back on Godric, her attraction to the ancient vampire was because she knew how to help him, and he was _so_ in need. The sorrow was so evident in him. But Sookie needed to talk to him about how she could help first. And she didn't think Eric knew about this skill, since it had only developed since she became a vampire and since she learned more about how to control her reading of emotions beyond the turning it off. Not even Pam knew about her experimentation.

Glancing at the clock on the wall that had been slowly ticking away the time until sunrise, she noticed there was still time left. Eric had closed the bar early tonight.

"Godric, wanna take a walk with me?" Sookie asked softly. With his nod, her eyes moved to Eric. She quickly read his emotions to be sure he was okay with everything so far. Worry was evident. A bit of fear. Gratefulness. And jealousy. Wait. Was he jealous of her ability to help him? Jealous of her or jealous of Godric was the question.

Standing up, she smiled warmly at her grandsire and held her hand out to Godric.

Calmly, almost hesitantly, he took her hand in his and they walked to the door.

"We'll be back in a few, Eric," Sookie called over her shoulder.

The had strolled to the nearby park a few blocks away from the gated community in silence, just enjoying the warm night air and the feel of their intertwined fingers.

"I do miss the sun sometimes," Sookie said as they stopped at a bench. "Everything is great now, but I think it's the sky fae in me. I used to love to sunbathe when I had the opportunity. It would drive Pam and Eric nuts when I would see them without showering before hand."

"You still smell like sunshine," Godric said gently, his voice like a soft caress of wind.

Sookie smiled at him and used her thumb to trace patterns on his hand. They were quiet for a few minutes.

Taking an unnecessary breath, Sookie broke the comfortable silence. "I have a way to help you. I can help make you happy. If it's something you want."

Godric looked at her, well closer. He had been looking at her most of the time they had been sitting. But his eyes caught hers and his hazel orbs held her blue ones. "I came here for help from my child. If you are how he can help me, then I'm happy for anything you think you can do. But what is it about you?"

"Well I have this skill. I can–"

"No," he said, interrupting her. "What is it about you that draws me to you?" He turned his body more towards her. The hand that wasn't holding hers reached up, and he trailed his fingers lightly as he traced the side of her face. His thumb reached out to pull her bottom lip out from between the teeth that had caught it.

His calloused thumb gently swept across her bottom lip. And, he thought, looking at it, that it just looked so plump and . . . nibbleable.

A faint smile played across Sookie's lips and her fangs ran out. They no longer startled her, but were the note to herself to calm down. It was how she controlled herself. Her pink tongue swiftly darted out to tickle and wet the tip of his digit, but her free hand reached up and caught his wrist. She gently pulled his hand away from her face after quickly puckering her lips and brushing a soft kiss over the second knuckles of his fingers.

She did not want her to think she was rejecting him, but she wanted to talk so she could try and help him while it was early enough. Holding both of his hands, she turned her body to completely face him.

"We can talk about that in a little. But let me help first?" she asked, almost pleadingly.

With his nod, Sookie leaned forward and pressed her lips against the corner of his mouth. She held his hands, somewhat preventing him from wrapping his arms around her (if he was really determined, he would be able to stop him), but it didn't keep him from moving his lips to hers.

He slipped one hand out from her hold and ran it her back as his lips continued to press kisses against hers that became more and more insistent. His fingers wound themselves into her hair, and he began opening his lips more, his tongue gently pressing against her soft mouth. Her mouth opened slightly, accepting his tongue as it gently brushed against hers.

Her tongue slipped from her mouth and followed his tongue into his own mouth. He tasted like the blood he had been drinking and something unique to himself. But when her tongue brushed against her fangs, the elongated teeth brought her back to reality slightly. While the fingers of his free hand were caressing the back of her neck, her hand came up and pressed against his chest, gently pushing him away. When he released her, she looked at him; his eyes were focused and the need was almost rolling off him.

Licking her lips, she paused for a moment, collecting herself. "So can you tell me why you're so upset? What is making you like this? Even now, under the curiosity and desire, the depression in you is evident. What are you living for?"

"At the moment I'm living for you," he chuckled under his breath. "The only goal in my life at the moment is to know more of you, in every way."

Were she able to blush she would, but he continued. "What made me upset? Well partly I am tired." He leaned back, took his free hand and ran it through his close-cut hair. He retracted his fangs and sighed.

"I've lived for two thousand years. That is a very long time. When I was younger, I did awful things. And then I saw and knew of vampires doing some of the same things now. I see humans who want to destroy us. And when I hear their arguments and think about what I have heard about, what I have seen, what I have done. . . . They're right is all I can think.

"Maybe we are wrong and evil. Maybe we should be smote." He closed his eyes. "I can no longer recall what the sun looked like when I was alive. I sometimes think going to the Fellowship willingly could accomplish something. They will eventually take someone. I have no more desire to live, so why should I allow them to sacrifices a vampire who is still content?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I imagine, what if they took Eric? What if the humans subdued him somehow and took away his life. He loves living. And I think of what he's done an accomplished. I recall how it compared to my first 1000 years. And he's marvelous."

His free hand trails up her arm, over her shoulder, and gently caresses the soft slope of her neck. "And now I imagine, what if they took you? You're so . . . alive." He breathed out the word with an exhale, almost making the term reverent.

His fingers continued up her neck and cupped her cheek. She had been listening to him intently, but she leaned slightly into his cupped palm and took an unneeded breath with her nose against his pulse point.

"If you want it, I can help you," Sookie whispered. "I can't give you the sun or take away what you did, what you've seen. I can, however, help you be happy, and take some of your upset into myself. I guess it's my skill or whatever as a vampire. An extension of my telepathy.

"You'll need to tell me what it's like, since I noticed I could do it to the humans in the bar, but never tried it on another vampire. For all I know this won't work, but I want to try. I'll concentrate on the emotions I read from you and try to siphon off the pain. So what I need you to do, I think, is focus on something else. Focus on what you want to do to me." She looked, up almost startled when his fangs audibly ran out and he took in a deep breath. "Or maybe you should focus more on what you want to know about me."

With his nod signaling his assent, Sookie closed her eyes. She ignored the curiosity and lust within him. Focusing on his feeling of upset, she tried to slowly bring a bit of it into herself while focusing on her own concentration. She wasn't sure if her own emotion filled the void she left, or if the person's emotions just swelled and filled the space.

When she did this on humans at the bar, it was more often tourists than fangbangers. Ones who were too fearful or annoyed even, if they were dragged there by their friends, were her typical subjects. She would pull off a bit of that fear or annoyance. The emotion would flicker through her, and she would quickly brush it aside leaving them more curious and less scared or more interested less irritated.

Taking a breath, not to breathe but to steel herself, she felt the pressure of his depression as it entered her. It was heavy on her mind, and Sookie felt her cheeks dampen as bloody tears rolled down her cheeks. She let out the breath, trying to expel the despair along with the air in her lungs.

She waited, trying to let it flow through her and be brushed aside.

But it hung on. She let out a whimper as the depression overwhelmed her completely and bloody tears ran down her cheeks.

Godric, who had also closed his eyes to concentrate of the feeling as she had instructed, couldn't believe it as he felt himself lighten. Though he knew everything he had done, everything his kind had done, and everything the humans wanted to do to him and his kind, he did not feel the weighty anguish he had felt for the past years.

He knew there were things he could do, and he understood why he was upset. He was even still a little dejected by it all. But he was not suicidal.

"Sookie. . ." he started, opening his eyes. But he stopped quickly at her furrowed brows. The whimper erupted from between her lips and she collapsed her body into him, sobs shaking her torso.

The abrupt appearance of a disheveled Pam did not surprise him. "What the hell did you both do?!" she exclaimed with annoyance. She had been in the middle of a lovely feed and fuck with Fangtasia's new girl when she felt a sudden wave of foreign emotion coming from her Sookie.

She took in the situation and was quickly on her knees before the bench, grasping her child's hand. "Sookie!" she called, trying to feel through the bond what was happening to her friend. "What happened?"

Godric stared at Eric's progeny and at the woman in his arms. "She helped me."

Pam's eyes snapped up at her grandsire. "How? I thought she was just going to spend time with you?"

"She took the edge away. She said something about taking the upset into herself."

"Let's take her to Eric. I don't know what happened."

She stood up and watched as Godric lifted up her child. She would protest and carry Sookie herself leaving her in Godric's arms didn't mean them getting to her master faster.

They ran quickly to Eric's home. Sookie never regained awareness, but remained sobbing.

Pam was flabbergasted. She had never seen Sookie cry.

Eric was in his home office and looked up as the his maker and child suddenly appeared in the space.

His eyes took in Sookie and he cocked an eyebrow, not letting worry mar his features. He could clearly see it in the faces of the two vampires before him. The eyebrow was all that was needed for Pam to spew out a worried explanation of the information she had.

He looked at Sookie, whose fingers were clutching Godric's shirt as her body shuttered with each whimper and sob.

"Sookie," Eric said with a sigh. "Silly girl."

AN: Please review! Impulsive is definitely a strong characteristic of Sookie. Any times when you've been impulsive and leaped before you looked?


	5. Overflowing Bathtub of Red Water

A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews everyone! I didn't get back to everyone for last chapter, but instead spent more time with this and managed to get another chapter out to you quicker. Characters are not mine. As a note/warning, this chapter is my first attempt at some lemonish thing.

Chapter 4 – Overflowing Bathtub of Red Water

It was crowding her and she couldn't breathe. Though she knew she no longer needed to, the drive to try to breathe through the crushing pain wouldn't go away. But she couldn't control her lungs enough to draw in the breath.

Images flickered through her mind as the depression overwhelmed her.

Her mother's annoyed sigh and the scowl that drifted across her face as her father went to teach her, an inquisitive six-year-old, how to grill.

_. . . couldn't just be a normal girl . . . has to be some little freak and Corbett won't let me drop her off at that hospital for nuts like her. She should be locked away._

Corbett's frustration with her not wanting to go see his Uncle.

_Fine. We'll just drop her off at mom's. She likes it better there anyway. I don't know why she and Michelle can't just get along._

Jason blaming her for their parents' death.

"Why'd ya have to make us come here?! If it wasn't for you Mama and Dad never would have died!"

Gran's heart attack. She found her in the kitchen, just lying on the floor after she heard the crash. She struggled to recall the number for emergencies as tears ran down her cheeks. Gran wasn't responding to her cries. Gran always hugged her when she cried. 9-1-1! That was the number Gran always told her to call.

Hadley taking out the frustration of her mother's illness on Sookie while she stayed with her and Aunt Linda while Gran was recovering in the hospital.

_She's just a freak! Why won't she go play somewhere else?! I don't want my friends to see her._

The first home with Jason. When he was still sticking up for her.

"Sook, it's only you and me. But I'm your big brother and I'll look out for you."

Getting separated from Jason when he couldn't live up to that promise. The sad look in his eyes as she was closed in the car and just stared through the rear window.

The news of Hadley running away and not being found.

The news of Aunt Linda dying. The itchy black dress that was a size too small that her current foster parents put her in before Gran picked her up to go to the funeral. Gran looked so frail, seeing her granddaughter too skinny and angry. Having her grandson dropped off by the family who valued his sports skills. Having her only daughter die.

The news of Gran's death. Sookie cried for days, and after being picked on for it, she went off on the older girl. She pummeled her with her twelve-year-old fists, trying to gain the upper hand on the fifteen-year-old high school girl. She tried so hard. Every connecting punch made pain flare up in her knuckles. The girl had a broken nose and a face full of bruises while Sookie was shipped off.

More fights, in and out of school. Taunts, either vocalized or in a student's head, would make Sookie's emotions explode.

Her mind glossed over meeting Pam and Eric, but the number of bad memories died down. Instead of thinking of new memories, now she just replayed the reel in her mind.

_This isn't right_, Sookie thought.

_I am more than this._

_I am more than the summation of my misery._

Her mind began to clear and she focused it. In her mind she visualized her best friend and maker. Her friend who had the long talk with the girl she was rooming with who liked to flick lit cigarettes at the bed while Sookie was sleeping. The friend who helped her emancipate at sixteen. The only girl she remembered knowing would be there for her. Her friend who gave her the ultimate gift and taught her well.

She focused on her maker's maker, her boss. The deep blue eyes that had tried to glamour her into forgetting where Pam lived. The mouth that would smirk at her with every good idea she had and with every contribution she made. The man who had made sure her first boyfriend walked to the door to pick her up before intimidating the Were so much that he never laid a hand on her. The vampire who knew she wouldn't shy away from learning how to fight as a human, who still trained her now as a vampire. Who valued her and her secrecy, beyond her demonic ability.

She thought quickly of the sad vampire with the pretty hazel eyes, who placed such trust in her. And she was proving she didn't deserve it. Not because she didn't help him, but because she couldn't control it as well as she needed.

She dealt with the things in her life already. There was no use dwelling. She had lived with these truths of her life already. And she was making something more of herself. She had meaning and purpose. She was special, not just in being her, but she was special to other people. She had the ability to do amazing things. And she was valued for her personality along with her skills. Pam valued her. Eric valued her. Vampires loyal to Eric, like Thalia, valued her. She was cared for. She was able to be independent, relied on, and knew whom she could fall back on.

The sobs slowly eased off and Sookie opened her eyes.

She was in her and Pam's room at Eric's home. Godric was sitting on her bed and she was perched in his arms and on his legs, her head against his chest. Pam's head was on her lap. Eric was sitting next to his maker and was holding her hand. And they were all dead for the day.

Sighing, Sookie cuddled into Godric's hold. Though he didn't respond, the comfort was there. She gently stroked the blond head of hair in her lap with her free hand and smiled. She squeezed Eric's calloused hand and rubbed her thumb along his knuckles. She was loved.

She slipped her hand out from Eric's and gently lifted Pam's head as she tried to slide off of Godric without disturbing him. Once off the bed, she carefully laid Pam's head down on his lap and padded out the door.

Sookie hated it when she was awake during the day. She could be awake, but she couldn't be in direct light, and she always was weak during the night as a result. But once she was up for the day there was no way for her to return to her day death.

Sighing, Sookie went into Eric's bathroom to shower. She would use the one upstairs, but that would mean burning slightly from the diffused sunlight. She would use the one in her and Pam's room, but she didn't want to disturb any of them, though there was really no chance of that.

Really, she just wanted to luxuriate in Eric's bathroom. She stripped of her clothing in his bedroom, leaving the soft cotton nightshirt on his floor. It wasn't nice, since it was covered in blood, despite it being obvious that someone changed her while she was incapacitated. She hoped it was Pam. She _seriously_ hoped it was Pam. Had it been Eric – or Godric! – geeze, she would die. Just die. Taking an unnecessary breath, Sookie calmed herself. _You were turned a teenager, but you are _not_ one. Adults, well vampires, see each other naked all the time (well not really). And they aren't upset about it (that one's true)._

Picking up the sleep shirt, she laid it in the trashcan in Eric's bathroom and fulfilled the tub with hot water. She didn't care how warm it got. It just made her skin warm, her flesh pink, and her heart almost feel like it could beat. It was a pleasant, though somewhat disturbing feeling if she really thought about it. She quickly hopped in his rain-spout shower and rubbed the dried blood off her skin, washing with Eric's body wash so she didn't have to sit in bloody water. She washed her face, which had already obviously been wiped down. She scrubbed her neck. Her hands moved over her breasts as she wiped the blood off and watched the reddish water flow into the drain.

Her fangs ran out at the sight and she ran her tongue over them, moaning softly to herself. She turned off the shower once the tub was full and walked, naked and wet, into Eric's empty bedroom to grab a bag of blood from the minifridge and to microwave it. Once she had sated one hunger, Sookie smirked to herself, a smirk learned from the best.

Slipping into the tub large enough for a party, Sookie laid her head back and allowed her mind to drift. She didn't touch herself all that often. As a human she had only had sex in the traditional sense once before she got sick. And that was when she was younger with a high school boy while she was in middle school. She had played around with Pam a few times, but that was rare and really not her cup of tea entirely.

But occasionally she did indulge her other needs with a little hands-on action. And now that her hunger was satisfied, she could satisfy herself in other ways.

Her eyes closed as her fingers circled her nipples. Her gentle pinches on them caused a moan to escape her lips, and almost seemed to echo in the room.

But suddenly it wasn't her fingers who were on her body and slowly drifting lower, it was another's hands entirely.

Godric's ran the back of his fingers over the swell of her right breast while his left palmed her other. Her back arched upwards as he grabbed a nipple between the back of two fingers and squeezed. Moving with her body, he gently tugged it away from her body, letting go and watching it pull back against her.

His other hand gently kneaded her other breast while his lips descended on the nipple he just made even more sensitive. The combination of the hot water and his cool mouth made Sookie moan at the sensations.

His hand trailed down her side as it slipped into the water and traced the line of her hips. At the gentle insistence of his hand, she parted her legs and moaned as his digits slipped between her lips to caress her sensitive nub. Sookie tossed her head back at the sensations he was creating, especially when he slipped a finger inside her.

His mouth was still on her breasts, treating both equally, when another set of cool lips were laid on her mouth. One of her hands gripped the arm of the hand that was pleasuring her so well while the other wound its fingers into the long locks of the person at her lips.

Eric mouth was demanding on hers, kissing her and making her know her lips were his. His tongue brushed against her lips, and she parted them at its request. She moaned into his open mouth as their tongues caressed each other and she felt Godric release her breast. Open mouth kisses trailed down her body and cooled her skin as he repositioned himself between her legs. Eric's mouth left the home it had made against hers to play where Godric had just left.

He used more teeth, while Godric had used more of his lips. While one cool tongue pressed against her nipple, swirling, caressing, teasing, another tongue was being brushed against her inner thigh.

Sookie moaned and bit her bottom lip as Godric's tongue pressed against her clit and two of his fingers curled up inside of her. Eric increased his suction on her nipple and his fingers played with and pinched her other.

With a gentle teasing nip with his teeth at her nub, she cried out and came, her body shaking with pleasure. Her chest heaving despite not needing to breathe. Her toes curled. She was hot from the water. She was riding the waves of pleasure.

Slowly she opened her eyes and removed her fingers from where they had been clenched between her legs. With a final soft groan, she let out a satisfied sigh and drained the water.

Stepping out, she noted it was nearly dark now. Wrapping herself in one of the large towels, she grabbed a t-shirt from his closet. Her feet padded against the carpet of the bedroom and hallway as she walked back to her room.

She grabbed and slipped on some panties before curling up next to her maker, her head in Eric's lap and Godric's hand grasped in her own. She would blush if she were able at the idea of them all knowing what she had done while on her own. But they wouldn't know. Looking at Pam's face, she smiled when her eyes opened to reveal her blue orbs.

Her smile faded quickly when she saw the scowl and felt the wave of anger coming through her bond with her maker.

* * *

A/N: _Please_ let me know what you thought! My first lemonish thing – lemonade? – is here, so I'd really love some feedback. And do not worry; I do not have a super!Sookie here. As you can or will see, there are major repercussions for her using the skills she has, and they come from various sources (some from her demon skill, some from her fae side, all fueled by the vampire magic and/or her spark). She will not be a cornucopia of abilities and be an invincible being. Hope that eases any fears any of you might have.


	6. Confidence and Consequence

**A/N: Thanks so much for all your reviews! It's midterm time so I had _no_ time to do more than grade work and somehow manage to squeeze this in. The reviews definitely makes my day and are great pick-me-ups when I'm grading. I do not own any characters, just making them do what I say.**

"Sookie Stackhouse what the hell were you thinking?!" Pam yelled, sitting up on the bed.

"Don't you lie there and smirk at me like I didn't panic last night wondering what happened. Like I didn't flip my shit when I found out what you did. Like I didn't have to bathe your unconscious body and force you to drink blood while you weren't able to do it yourself so you wouldn't cry it all out of your body."

Sookie sat up, glancing at Eric who was also looking at her as Pam berated her, and stared at her lap, her head bowed in shame.

"Why the _hell _did you do that without talking to me or Eric?! Why the fuck didn't you tell me you could do that?" Pam was furiously pacing back and forth on the carpet between glares and challenging stares.

"I thought we moved beyond this. I am your maker. Even more than that, we have been friends for ten years. While that's less time to me and nothing to Eric or Godric, it is two fifths of your damn lifetime! I can understand not trusting us with your telepathy when we met. I get not wanting to tell us when the demon lawyer told you to keep your fae heritage secret.

"But what in the name of all that is holy -"

"All that's holy…like your vintage Chanel?" Sookie asked, trying to lighten the scolding Eric and Godric were witnessing with a joke.

"Sookie. Why did you keep it from me?" Pam asked, crouching in front of her progeny.

"I – I guess I didn't want to make a big deal of it. I was only practicing on the fangbangers." Her eyes flicked to Godric as she added, "I really wasn't sure it would work for Godric, but I wanted to try."

"Vampire emotions are different from human ones," Godric added gently.

"I wanted to try, and you both wanted so much for me to help. So I thought about it and tried manipulating customer's emotions a bit more while I was at the door last night. It was easy. Slip in, brush away the emotion I didn't want, slip out. I guess I knew I was absorbing the emotion, but it never really registered."

"You cannot do that," Pam said harshly. "You cannot act as if you are a rogue vampire, acting only for your own benefit. Because no matter your intentions, that was what you did. You are a part of my life. You are a part of Eric's life. Now you know you are a part of Godric's life. Do you think I, or any of us, would force you to use it in ways you didn't want?"

"No, you—"

"Have I ever forced you to do something you didn't want? With any skill or ability? At all as a vampire?"

"No."

"You didn't want to kill people to sustain yourself. Did I allow you to kill when fed after you were turned?"

"No, Pam."

"Did I ever hurt anyone based on thoughts you discovered when you felt it wasn't warranted?"

"No, Pam."

"I even made sure, repeatedly, that you were absolutely sure you'd rather live like this and know I have the ability to make decisions for you if necessary. You were fine with it. You said Eric and I were your only friends. You said you'd miss things, but being able to spend more time with us and not have all the secret 'vampire shit' between us would be worth it. You fucking agreed, Sookie."

"I know Pam. You've never forced me to do anything I didn't wanted. I – I'm sorry."

"For now I want you to go to Fangtasia and open up. I'm sure there is an outfit there for you. When I call to you through the bond, come back here. We will talk about this more once I am ready for the night and can handle this new line of bullshit."

Sookie nodded. She had fucked up. And she knew it. She was wordless as she got up and sped out of the house.

Pam sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. It was very human, especially because it caused Eric's hand to gently grip her shoulder. "It is not easy to discipline someone you care for so much, especially since as your child, you really just want to take away her pain," he said, trying to comfort her.

"She gets it. She knows why I'm, why we're upset. She just didn't think." Pam stood up. "Are you still feeling well, Godric?"

"I am," he said gently. It was amazing really. She didn't remove all of the pain in his heart, but just the edge of it. After two thousand years, though, he obviously felt depression on a much different scale than a human or newly turned vampire.

"Her ability is amazing, or it could be if she can learn to control it. Imagine taking the anger from a vampire and diffusing a situation? Removing someone's suspicion. Even getting rid of deception. Would it cause a vampire to speak the truth? If she can learn to let the emotions roll off of her, as she does with humans, she could be even more magnificent," Godric said thoughtfully. He had relayed everything Sookie had said to his child and Pam. He rethought it over and over, trying to figure out every aspect he could of her explanation of her ability.

Pam sighed again as Godric and Eric got up off the bed. "She just didn't think of repercussions. She's a young vampire still and would only be coming into modern maturity now if she was still human," Eric said gently, his mind obviously focused on helping both his child and her progeny.

In truth, he was relieved. If Sookie had not impulsively tried, his maker would still be in the throes of his depression, being pushed by his overwhelming emotions. Though foolish, Sookie had done exactly what he expected her to do, really exactly as she did everything: in an unexpected way.

He grinned, walking into his bathroom and noting the smell of arousal that still lingered behind the closed door. His eyes rolled towards the ceiling in slight exasperation. She wondered why he still lusted after her.

While she had been a snarky teenager when he first met her, she had quickly grown into a human he valued. He did not understand how humans could treat their children as Sookie was treated. What would really come from treating a child they were caring for with respect, protection, or even some affection?

Instead Sookie was lashed out at. She was beaten at times. She was punished for things, both rightly when she acted as she should not, and inappropriately. He didn't think she had been abused sexually, at least not after her parents' deaths. But there had been attempts that he knew of. And they were quickly put to a stop, in various ways, once the officious teenage girl had entered his and Pam's lives. Bartlett, for example, was never found again after Sookie had confessed his crimes to Pam.

While she was a beautiful teenager, it was her personality that really made her sexy and drove Eric to his desire for her. She was one person, other than maybe Pam, who would speak back to Eric without fear. She never did it without cause or, at least in the beginning, self-preservation in mind. But she would call Eric on his bullshit.

She was creative in her ideas. Had an amazing talent and knew how to keep her mouth shut to protect it. She didn't just say to them, "Hey, I'm your new neighbor and I'm also a telepath!" The silence of their minds drew her. Her inability to be glamoured produced their curiosity. And then Sookie played detective. Once she discovered they were vampires, she was still cautious, informing them of her ability only when her life was threatened as a result of her knowledge. Plenty of foster teenagers ran away, she knew. It wouldn't be hard for them to make her disappear.

Even when she informed Pam and Eric about her telepathy, she was a smartass. "There's nothing I have that you can threaten me with. Damage me and you'll lose a telepath. So here's my solution: hire me."

Yes, Eric thought, scenting the air. It was her personality. And the fact that she either thought nothing of getting off in his bathroom or she had done it on purpose. She was a snarky teenager when they met. And now she was a snarky vampire.

* * *

Sookie bottled up her emotion, but she knew she fucked up. Running to Fangtasia from Eric's home on the edge of Shreveport hadn't helped her calm herself. Neither had the critical eye she had laid on the prep job underway. Neither had grabbing another rag from behind the bar and working on making it spotless. Neither had ripping the first uniform as she tried to put it on impatiently. Neither had the fake fangy smile she gave to the camera as some tourist asked for a picture at the door before being let in.

She worked hard, trying to get the bar filled. She worked to make sure no one with the least culpability was allowed in. People she knew had started fights before. Women and men who were known to have foul tasting blood. Anyone with any slight flaw in her eyes was turned away with a sympathetic smile. And the Fellowship member she caught trying to get in wearing a poor disguise wasn't just glamoured and sent away. He was brought to the basement and locked there for Eric to deal with whenever he got there.

It was a little after 11 when she felt a tremor go through her body. Alerting Chow that she was leaving, she followed the summons of her maker as it lead her, not back to Eric's house, but through the woods and out of Shreveport. She followed it to the backwoods town she had lived in as a child.

She didn't stop to think about where she was going until she was standing, head bowed, before Pam. Her guilt caused her to fall to her knees.

She hadn't noticed where they were. Pam stood, looking at the house she and Eric had bought a few months ago and fixed up. It wasn't anything really special. But with the stories Sookie had told her about her Gran, as rarely as she would talk about it, it fit the idea she had of the old woman.

Now with a newly graveled drive, new appliances in the kitchen, new electrical wiring, a new roof, and a new duct-based heating and cooling system, the house was updated and decorated sticking to the Southern farmhouse style. It was quite pretty, Pam thought. While it didn't have the same lavishness where she was raised, she could imagine a miniature Sookie playing in the yard.

"This was going to be a surprise for Christmas" Pam said, breaking the silence and gesturing at the house behind her.

Sookie's eyes looked up at her maker, and she took in what Pam was saying. She looked around, knowing exactly where she was. She wasn't sure how to feel. She missed Gran at times, when she was nostalgic about her childhood. But in general she didn't think too much about it. "Wait – what?"

"Eric and I purchased it for you. We fixed it up. The home is now light-tight. So even if you wake during the day you can go around the home."

"D-do you not want me staying with you?" Sookie hated how pathetic she sounded with the almost desperate question. Had her mistake been so monumental, so grievous, that she was no longer wanted?

"Of course you can stay with me or Eric. But we thought, for sentimental reasons, you might want a connection to a happy time in your childhood. Having your own space can be freeing. It can allow for some creativity." Pam sighed.

"I wonder if I stifled you or something that. Maybe that's why you don't –" she glanced at the home behind her. "Maybe this amount of freedom will help you understand that I'm only here to help you."

"I'm sorry, Pam. I didn't mean anything by it! I wasn't purposely keeping anything from you," Sookie said, quickly appearing at Pam's side and grasping her hand. "I wanted to try. I wanted to help him. Eric cares so much about him. He was so worried. And the upset was just overwhelming when I sensed Godric. I was foolhardy. I went in without thinking. I should have known that with how strong the emotions I sensed were that they could overwhelm me. I do not know why I didn't tell you. I just didn't think about it. I wanted to know more about it before I explained it to you."

"Take a breath, Sookie," Pam said, squeezing her progeny's hand. "I know it wasn't intentional. But I do not like that you choose working it out on your own before coming to me and to Eric to have us help you."

"I'm sorry."

"Now, I want you to try your skill again, but on me. Now, choose an emotion you can feel in me that you'd prefer not to be there."

Sookie stared at her maker for a moment, but then quickly followed the request. She knew to do as Pam had told her before that she needed to utilize all of her resources. She searched using her sensing ability and the bond with her maker to search through her emotions. Curiosity, betrayal, annoyance, hurt, and other less strong emotions hit her.

She focused on the one she wanted least of all, one that caused some other negative ones. And she kept her eyes open this time as she took in some of her maker's betrayal.

She felt the feeling coming into herself. She knew it was foreign, and instead, she focused on how cared for she felt. She focused on how Pam had worried and how she and Eric had wanted to make her happy. They got her the only thing she could connect to some of the few happy memories from her childhood.

While she registered betrayal in her mind, she didn't let it fester. She knew she could feel betrayed by her family, by the system that should have ensured her wellbeing, by her brother who should want to know how she is. But she didn't. She had family who loved her.

Pam looked at her child with a little awe. She had felt the idea that her progeny had been disloyal slowly seep from her conscious. But only because she had been paying attention. She knew Sookie hadn't done it on purpose. And that knowledge was enough to let the feeling go. That, she knew, was justification internally for the wonderful talent her Sookie had.

"A-are you okay, Pam?" Sookie asked questioning and timid.

Pam hands squeezed and she nodded. "Yes. But I think you seriously owe me. Should we go home so you can search for and buy my forgiveness and, of course, have it overnighted?"

**A/N: So is Pam too quick to forgive? Did she overreact? What do you think of Sookie's ability now that she has shown she is able to control it?**


	7. My Hero

**A/N: Oh my gosh! I am SO sorry this took me so long! Between work, Sandy, wanting to do a Halloween story, and life getting in the way I wasn't able to spend as much time with this as I wanted! Even still it's shorter than I'd like, but I wanted to get it out to you all. Thanks so much for the support and reviews! I'm starting to develop the plot more in this chapter. Nothing is mine.**

* * *

Pam and Sookie had gone back to their home and had some bonding girl time, shopping online and reconnection after a night of a lot of tension. In the weeks that followed, Pam had Sookie continue working on the new skill while at work, able to remove any emotion efficiently with humans without a thought.

On vampires it was much more difficult. If the other vampire wasn't willingly involved, it was difficult to let the emotion let go, and upon trying Sookie was often left exhausted. Either because of her youth or because of the energy required with the skill, she was often unable to really draw away much of the emotion without active involvement.

Pam and Sookie had spent extra time at the bar, allowing Eric to spend time with Godric now that he was feeling a bit better and no longer residing in Texas. The pair was often seen at Fangtasia though, sitting in Eric's booth and conversing at times.

Other times they would just watch. Eric definitely kept his eyes roving everything, but certainly took time to admire the belle at his door. Especially when she would have to play bouncer. If Pam wasn't available to quickly diffuse a situation in her own special way, Sookie would have to do the job.

She didn't much like manhandling customers, but the girl certainly could take care of things if necessary. If it was a human, it was usually a glare, a glamour if it could be done discretely, a use of her ability to remove the aggression, or, worst case, grabbing the back of a shirt collar and physically carrying her out. It was entertaining for Eric to see a woman in a frilly black dress almost a foot shorter than him carrying out grown men.

Weres typically knew better than to come to the bar, though some were in what Pam called "Sookie's fan club" and showed up begrudgingly with regularity. Those who did either knew better than to make any problems or, like vampires who were older than her, were taken care of by Thalia, Eric, Pam or, once, Godric.

That night had been an interesting incident. Eric was in his office, on the phone with the queen. Thalia was off for the night. Pam was busy organizing Eric's sheriff duties for the night and setting aside the money necessary that Sophie-Anne was currently raising regardless of Eric's obviously already sufficient tribute.

Godric was sitting in the booth, keeping an ear on everything and two eyes on Sookie. He would watch her still. She was somewhat of an enigma. Since the kiss in the park, nothing had escalated beyond that and no more kisses had occurred. Sookie was friendly and actively tried to get to know him. It helped that he was so concentrated on knowing her. She had spent time decorating her Gran's home in Bon Temps. And he spent time there with her, assisting in painting and other decor that Pam and Eric had left.

Sookie was doing well as the vampire on display at the door, helping tourists, reminding visitors of the rules about photography, and checking IDs.

"Yeah; I don't freakin' think so!" came Sookie elevated voice from the door. Godric paused for a moment, to listen more, waiting to see if it was just a human's scolding he had heard. He could see Sookie's back, but not who was in front of her.

"Last time you broke the rules. We had to replace some tables and patch some walls from where you broke your fall after Eric threw you. And THEY cannot come in here dressed like that. Hell—they aren't supposed to be in public like that!"

Moving, Godric was suddenly by her side. And he wasn't very surprised at who was before Sookie.

The tallest one was bald, in a black muscle t-shirt with no sleeves, and was turned in the early 90s. . . with very bad tattoos on his head. The tattoo held no meaning. It was his spinal column going up his back. There was no meaning to it and he had done nothing to earn it, Godric thought. The thin facial hair didn't do much to enhance his appearance, but then Godric wondered who would have even turned him in the first place.

The woman next to him was sporting an afro and seemed to embrace the late 90s and early 2000s return of the disco look. Shiny clothes and too much 'bling.' She was turned in the early 70s.

The leader of the group, Malcolm, was the only one who stopped glaring at Sookie when Godric showed up next to her. A wiry man, he was dressed a little nicer, but it was as if he was trying too hard, and was classless as a result. He was a few hundred years old – almost three now, Godric thought.

Though he had seen a demonstration of Sookie's fighting ability when she sparred with Pam and was doubtless that she could handle the two who were only a few decades older than her – his progeny had trained her after all – he knew she wouldn't be able to take Malcolm, simply because in the vampire world, age equaled strength and speed. Skill can help evade it, but it can only overpower it so much.

The "THEY" were a pair of humans the vampires had brought with them. The man was wearing a collar and a bright red shiny thong. He knew it was a thong because the man was on his hands and knees on the pavement, with his ass up in the air. Dianne was leading him on a chain lead and occasionally had a hand stroking his raised bare ass.

The woman was emaciated and needed a few days off to regain her blood supply. She was wearing sheer lingerie and _everything_ was visible. Liam's arm was around her slight waist and she had the look of a crack addict.

"Listen little girl," Diane started, her eyes narrowing at Sookie. "Your little boyfriend here doesn't scare me and neither do you. We have a meeting with the sheriff and we're coming in."

"I was notified by neither Pam nor Eric. You do not have an appointment with Eric tonight. If you want to speak with him you need to call ahead. If you want I can schedule you for an appointment with the Sheriff's second or you can meet with Eric next week. His maker is visiting," Sookie said, growing impatient, especially since Diane obviously had no clue who Godric was.

"We don't give a flying FUCK about Eric's bitchass maker. We came all the way from Monroe and we're not leaving until you get your ass out of our way and he sees us. Unless we need to make it happen." Sookie knew Eric and Godric kept their relationship mum, but seriously?!

Malcolm's response, however, was immediate and he cuffed Liam in his jaw. "I apologize; I know your maker is Eric's child." Sookie eyeballed him and Godric merely stood behind her, waiting to step in if necessary.

"We are here because our new nestmate is checking in. He asked us to come a little early and make sure his appointment was scheduled," Malcolm continued.

"What's his name?" Godric prompted.

"William Compton. He has references from us, Sophie-Anne, his maker, and his former Sheriff in Washington."

Sookie nodded, having heard the name as one who was coming to check in tonight. "Look, Malcolm. You can come in, but they and their pets are not permitted." Her eyes looked over the humans, and she had a flicker of recognition. Maudette. A girl in her brother's class. Her thoughts were the only thing that clued Sookie in. However, she was content with how starved she was and how awful she looked, so Sookie wouldn't interfere.

Diane and Liam hissed, causing a whimper to come from Maudette and a wiggle of his butt from the crawling man.

Godric glared at the two and flexed his fingers ready to fight if necessary. The line of humans staring at the scene by the door wouldn't deter him from protecting Sookie if necessary. They could always be glamoured.

"Listen, Bitch, don't think you're so fuckin' high and mighty. We'll go play in the Toys 'R' Us down the way. But don't think this shit will stand," Diane grumbled and they stalked off, stopping before they got half way across the parking lot as Liam made everyone stop so he could lean against the wall and make Maudette blow him.

"Come on in, Malcolm," Sookie said, disgusted. She had seem some nasty and ridiculous stuff, but they seriously were awful. She had no doubt she needed to watch her back where they were concerned.

As Malcolm walked in, Godric repositioned his body to watch both him and speak to Sookie. He stepped close to her and murmured in her ear, "Are you okay?"

Sookie smiled at him and leaned slightly into his body, slipping her hand into his. Her lips brushed against his cheek and with the tingles that erupted across her body from the point of their contact, she didn't notice the tourist's camera flash going off.

"Thanks," Sookie told him sincerely. She felt safe when he was there. She knew no matter what she would be okay while he was around.

When that same tourist who took their picture slipped out of line without going into the club, neither Sookie nor Godric, who stayed at the door with her, paid any attention.

**A/N: Ught oh! So who do you think it is/who is the person working for?! There are so many possibilities at this point! Thanks for reading. :)**


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